Extracting The Roots Of Poverty

Despite the fight to eradicate poverty being a daily battle, a special day –17 October, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty–has been set aside to highlight the plight of many living below the breadline and show what solutions have been implemented to help alleviate poverty across the globe. It’s also a chance for people to put forward fresh ideas.

Often we assume that poverty is a result of people not working hard enough or not being resourceful. This stereotyping is an indication of the extent to which we are misinformed – multiple factors affect economic empowerment in society.

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty dates back to 17 October 1987 when masses gathered in Paris to highlight the plight of people affected by poverty, hunger and violence. The gathering took place at the site where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948. Article 25 of the declaration states in part that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care, and necessary social services”. After a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1992, 17 October was declared the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

It is not enough to highlight poverty and publish the statistics of people living below the poverty line, policymakers, stakeholders and other people in positions of power need to have an action plan for fighting against poverty and destitution. On this special day, leaders get to present the strategies they have come up with to help the poor and a platform is afforded to the people living in poverty to speak about their circumstances and voice their needs.